Personal computer systems are well known in the art. Personal computer systems in general, and IBM Personal Computers in particular, have attained widespread use for providing computer power to many segments of today's modern society. Personal computers can typically be defined as a desktop, floor standing, or portable microcomputer that is comprised of a system unit having a single central processing unit (CPU) and associated volatile and non-volatile memory, including all RAM and BIOS ROM, a system monitor, a keyboard, one or more flexible diskette drives, a fixed disk storage drive (also known as a "hard drive"), a so-called "mouse" pointing device, and an optional printer. One of the distinguishing characteristics of these systems is the use of a motherboard or system planar to electrically connect these components together. These systems are designed primarily to give independent computing power to a single user and are inexpensively priced for purchase by individuals or small businesses. Examples of such personal computer systems are IBM's PERSONAL COMPUTER AT (IBM PC/AT), IBM's PERSONAL SYSTEM/1 (IBM PS/1), and IBM's PERSONAL SYSTEM/2 (IBM PS/2).
Personal computer systems are typically used to run software to perform many diverse activities, one of which is the generation and playback of music or other sound. Through the introduction of digital signal processors, multimedia, and fast microprocessors, personal computer systems have brought to the consumer a level of sound realism only achievable in the past by specially designed music systems.
Conventional computer systems usually require the purchase of a specialty input device to allow the user to experience a degree of reality in playing a musical instrument. One such input device is an digital piano style keyboard capable of being interfaced to a personal computer system. Such a device has the advantages of providing the user with the feel and physical layout of a real musical instrument, such as a piano, organ, music synthesizer, or other keyboard instrument. The digital piano style keyboard, however, suffers from several disadvantages: it must be purchased separately from the personal computer system, they are often large and require extra space that is additional to the computer system itself and thus lack portability, the computer system may not be configured with the proper hardware to allow the addition of a digital piano style keyboard, and the user is usually burdened with the inconvenience of a complex installation. Furthermore, the required cost and availability make the digital piano style keyboard undesirable for the novice or beginner interested in using their personal computer system to learn, play, or compose music.
To overcome these disadvantages, inventors have attempted modify or alter standard computer keyboard arrangements to represent the more traditional piano style keyboard. Prior attempts included fastening a piano style keyboard appendage over the computer keyboard such that depressing a piano key would result in a corresponding alpha-numeric key being depressed. These early attempts suffer from the disadvantages of (1) restricting the use of the computer keyboard solely to musical input because the piano style keyboard appendage is fastened on top of the computer keyboard, and (2) the inconvenience of having to unfasten the piano style keyboard appendage each time the user wishes to enter textual information.
Other attempts have focused on associating specific chords and melody notes with specific alpha-numeric keys on the computer keyboard. These attempts have eliminated the inconvenience of having to fasten and unfasten a piano style keyboard appendage to the computer keyboard, but have in the same process also deprived the user of the experience of using the conventional piano style keyboard because the user must associate specific alpha-numeric keys with specific melody notes in a layout which is totally different from a conventional piano keyboard or other keyboards.
It is therefore desirable to provide a computer keyboard that emulates a partial physical appearance and key layout of a piano style keyboard, without the use of external appendages or modification of the standard "QWERTY" keyboard arrangement, and to allow users to enter musical information, in a similar fashion to a real piano style keyboard, while also allowing the entering of textual information.